Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Mark E. Hurling]

Does anyone LIKE doing 5s for heavy deads? We like to brag that we did it, but I don't think anybody likes actually doing them!

Also, grats on the new belt hole

Thank you, and I am contemplating a Doug Hepburn style of routine with lotsa heavy singles.

[Mark E. Hurling]

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I continued working Ken and Ethan through the blue belt 2nd degree techniques. We all got our eyes opened a little. Me? I suddenly realized that the escape from a bear hug worked in part because the torso has an elliptical shape that wedges the hands and arms off a grip when you pivot. Ethan and Ken discovered the pain associated with activating the femoral nerve along the inside of the thigh and along the tibia. Both very effective in a rear body scissors escape, and also useful if you get momentarily stuck in the guard of a BJJ enthusiast. Ken jumped like a tasered frog from the tibia activation. He's a big guy too, and I have never seen anyone jump like that from nailing the pressure point.

They moved through the other techniques with relative ease. As I explained to them, this rank amplifies on things and principles they have already learned in the lower belt ranks. Good session.

Oh, and Emma's mother emailed me about how proud she was of herself. I responded that she earned it.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Woof! Advice to all and sundry about to follow:

To wit, don't follow a deadlift day with 6 hours of standing and hustling concessions for a Special Olympics fundraiser at a state of Illinois Science Fair. My feet, hamstrings, and lower back were barking at me big time. It was a last second emergency request for assistance, so there was no chance to plan, only react.

So today I succumbed to the Dark Lady's entreaties and askance glances and went for a ride on this glorious Spring day. It was around Lake Murphysboro and Hoffman Road. Lotsa great breaking curves to negotiate. Every season here brings it's own road hazards to throw you into a spill. In Autumn it was black walnuts and in early Spring it's turtles crossing the road looking for a lady turtle to mate with.

A great ride that proved to be some good LISS cardio. 73 minutes of 69% at of MHR burning 664 calories.

[Mark E. Hurling]

3rd Cycle, Week 2. 3 reps @ 70%-80%-90%.

Bench Press: 155-175-198/3.

Hammer Row: 295-335-640/3.

Hammer Leg Press: 495-570-640/5.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Rounds this morning of cable crunch, medicine ball toss, prowler, heavy bag, row, stretching.

It took a little longer than usual to get my HR up to cardio level. Surely a sign of improving conditioning.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I decided to get a little more serious about the bro routine I do in midweek. Going forward, I am adopting a 5-3-1 for these lifts too with a last lighter back-off set of 12 reps. But to get a good 5-3-1 template running, I needed to determine 1 RM's in the lifts involved. So, this session had that first step as it's objective.

Seated Press: 45 and 95 for sets of 8, with singles to follow with 135-145-160 and a failed attempt with 170.

Hammer Curls: 75 and 95 for sets of 8, with singles to follow with 125-145-155-165.

EZ Curl Close Grip Floor Press: 75 and 125 for sets of 8, with singles to follow with 155-165.

I was a little surprised about the floor press being relatively low, but then that failed shot at 175 in the seated press probably took a lot of steam out of my triceps. The prone pullover also takes it's toll as well.

Last night I got awakened with a very painful cramp in the sartorius muscle of my right quad at O-dark 30. I wasn't sure it would support my weight, but I tried it, and all went well, even though it hurt like a bastard until it relaxed a little. Very odd, that muscle has never even griped before and I have no clue as to why it acted up like that. Good to go this morning though.

[Mark E. Hurling]

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Good thing Ken showed up tonight to assist in teaching because Zach showed up again. Zach was his usual obnoxious self but Ken worked with him while I did my best to fix Jacob's flaws. Jacob got so frustrated, he nearly started crying and walked off the mat. Poor guy. He was some serious relaxing to do and work on his leaning and body alignment while executing techniques. He just couldn't get it all together, so I moved on into performing techniques and fixing his issues there one at a time. He got better, and by the end of class had improved significantly. I had to break down stepping and why it's done and how it works in escapes and counters. I never had to do that to such a detailed extent before, but it worked. we'll see how well he retains it next week.

[SeanThornton]

Being a recent returnee to the forums here, I've missed a lot of the martial arts teaching posts. Are these special olympians? (or, since I don't think they have martial arts specifically in SO, special needs students?)

[Mark E. Hurling]

No Sean, the MA classes I teach are at the local park district with no connection to Special Olympics. That said, I was informed (a good deal after his enrollment in the class) that he was on the autism spectrum. Which I think accounts for some of his problems with movement.

OTOH, the powerlifter I train, John, practiced Tae Kwon Do for a while. I have shown some of the Special Olympians a few things to protect themselves, but none have gotten serious enough to sign up for classes as yet. That may change later though.

EDIT:

I just recalled that someone mentioned that S/O has Judo, but not here in the US and definitely not here in Illinois AFAIK. If they did, the Chicago area would be the most likely place to encounter it. Having spent some years competing in Judo in the NCAA and a few years after graduation, I could definitely coach that event. The little respect Judo has for ground techniques like chokes, pins, and arm bars are a huge window of opportunity to exploit. I'd have S/O Judo competitors tying their opponents in mizuhiki knots on the mat.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I had planned to do some Highland Games related training today, but woke up creaky in the low back and knees, so bending and lifting and twisting throws of heavy shit was not on the programme for today. Pity that.

The Illinois State Police had 14 units parked at the Rec Center this morning and since there were some of the drivers lined up at the reception desk signing in as guests I asked if it was annual recertification. Yep.

Anyway, to comfort some of my aches I did rounds of the elliptical, SciFit, medicine ball toss, rower, crunches, heavy bag, and stretching. The Neverlast speed bag that someone ruptured has not yet been replaced. Sigh.